


Remember

by orphan_account



Series: Memory [1]
Category: Dream SMP - Fandom, Minecraft (Video Game), Video Blogging RPF
Genre: (it's not relevant at all), Angst, Character Death, Dadza, Debatable Comfort, Dream Smp, Enderman Ranboo (Video Blogging RPF), Family Dynamics, Flashbacks, Friend The Sheep - Freeform, Ghost Wilbur Soot, Ghostbur, Ghostbur remembers, How Do I Tag, Hurt, Hybrid Ranboo (Video Blogging RPF), I DONT THINK THERE'S GOING TO BE ANY COMFORT HERE OH NO, Insane Wilbur Soot, January 6th, Kinda..., Memory Loss, Phil is a Bad Dad, Piglin Hybrid Technoblade (Video Blogging RPF), Piglin Hybrid Wilbur Soot, Protective Technoblade (Video Blogging RPF), Repressed Memories, Sad Wilbur Soot, Sleepy Bois Inc as Family, Tags Are Hard, Tags May Change, Technoblade Hears Voices (Video Blogging RPF), Triggers, Twins Wilbur Soot & Technoblade, Villain Wilbur Soot, Wilbur Soot Angst, Wilbur Soot and Technoblade and TommyInnit are Siblings, Wilbur Soot and Technoblade are Twins, Wilbur Soot-centric, also wilbur's may be mentioned, it's just friend, maybe some comfort, most characters are only mentioned or briefly appear, no beta we die like wilbur, sleepy bois inc - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-08
Updated: 2021-01-14
Packaged: 2021-03-12 06:29:07
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,805
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28631028
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: He gasped, stumbling back and turning away from his missing sewer. He needed some blue, blue like Friend... Friend! Where was Friend?Or, What if Ghostbur is forced to remember all that was forgotten when he shows up to a familiar scene of a broken L'Manberg?
Relationships: ALL PLATONIC
Series: Memory [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2098176
Comments: 29
Kudos: 343





	1. Chapter One

**Author's Note:**

> My first work for this fandom :)  
> If you have any requests for dream SMP fics please just mention them below although if I am uncomfortable with certain prompts then I will not do them.
> 
> I'm trying out Grammarly and therefore, that is my beta reader hush...  
> If anyone is interested in being a beta reader for me... hit me up?
> 
> This was written instead of doing my online English revision of Macbeth and has been written on both paper and the notes app on my phone so please forgive me for how poor it is, I've spent a good few hours writing this after watching wilbur's stream from Jan 6th and hsjfhjdfh alivebur might be coming back???? pogggg. although, I don't know if I want ghostbur to go or not :(
> 
> Triggers: mentions of explosions/war [will be added to if needed]

Drums _~~unfinished symphony~~ _in his head, pulsing through his veins, spreading through his bones—something felt off. Something felt wrong and unreasonably sad and so, the ghost dismissed it. he had no time for the tidal wave of insignificant sadness to pull him down and drown him in his existence.

  
When he was unable to find any form of his family at Technoblade's Arctic cottage, he realised with excitement that Tommy might've come home to L'Manberg after his vacation. Right, yes, that's where he must go. he could also check on Friend! Phil had been looking after him for Ghostbur.

  
He set off for his nation, planning as he went. If they were in L'Manberg maybe Fundy would come for a family get together, it'd be a dream come true for Ghostbur. He felt himself float higher with the pride he held for his little champion.

  
_~~STOP~~ _   
_~~TURN AROUND~~ _   
_~~DANGER~~ _   
_~~STOP~~ _

There it was! L'Manberg his... it was gone, the town he built and unfinished business keeping him here reduced to nothing but a crater. Above was a black obsidian grid, grinning down at its achievement, the ghost could make out a few figures stood there...  
His sewer! Home, home, home. His library, it's safe there... his sewer, smoke invaded every inch of his sense of smell. 

~~_They had just taken back their nation from Schlatt_ ~~

  
He gasped, stumbling back and turning away from his missing sewer. He needed some blue, blue like Friend... Friend! Where was Friend?

  
He headed towards Phil's house, partially destroyed as it was, in the hope to find his blue companion... he wasn't there, only remnants of an explosion remained. Where was Friend? He continued walking, struggling through the ruins. Techno! Techno would know where Friend was right? He went over to his brother who was surrounded by a few other people... jack, right? Hmm, maybe oh and there was Sapnap! 

  
"Have you seen Friend?" it was his way of a greeting, too sad to say hello, he needed some blue. A familiar enderman blip sounded to his left announcing the arrival of Ranboo to the group.

  
The piglin hybrid observed his ghost brother, the rush of creating so much destruction fading slightly at the aura of sadness that encompassed the usually oblivious spirit. 

**HE'S HURT**

  
**GHOSTBUR POG**

  
**E**

  
**BLOOD FOR THE BLOOD GOD**

  
**E**

**/rainbow chat**

  
**E**

  
**PROTECT HIM**

  
_Chat, be quiet._ He informed the spirit that he had not seen the sheep partner Ghostbur had become attached to, soon after sending a warning glare at Jack Manifold who was miming pushing the ghost into the pit of destruction. Techno wasn't the only hybrid to pick up on the sweater clad's melancholy turmoil as Ranboo caught the ghost's attention and gave him some blue he had on his person.

  
Ranboo! Ghostbur praised the enderman friend, returning some blue he received as a thank-you. He clutched the colour in his hand but achieved nothing, the worry and sadness he felt for Friend overpowering any calm that usually would've arrived. 

  
If they couldn't help with his search for Friend, then Ghostbur would find someone who would. Looking around, he soon caught sight of his youngest brother—Tommy! Tommy would help him, Ghostbur could also ask him how exactly L'Manberg got like this. 

  
"Tommy! Have you seen Friend?" the spirit failed to smile or try and celebrate his brother's return to their nation. Again, he received a shake of a head as a no... He heard Tubbo inhale sharply. 

  
"I- He was in Phil's house... Ghostbur, Will, there is no way he could've survived Dream's TNT." The young president was shaking where he stood. Ghostbur's grip on the blue tightened.

  
"Dream? Who did this exactly?"

  
"Dream, Techno-" the name of his twin was no longer his focus as the third name was mentioned, "and Phil."

  
Phil? His dad, but he knew Friend was in L'Manberg. He promised to look after Friend for the spiritual son. Phil, but he-he killed Alivebur for... Why did he kill Alivebur? For what? 

  
~~_To save L'Manberg. To save your family. You blew up your home. You tried to kill them all._ ~~

  
What? He... _The smoke rose and suddenly he was in a room, words scrawled across the caved-in walls, his lungs burnt with despair and relief as one–_

"Ghostbur!"


	2. Chapter Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> TW/ flashbacks, Wilbur's death, bad parenting (dream SMP Phil is a bad dadza my dudes :(( ), spiralling, ghostbur is having a breakdown rn (PLEASE INFORM ME IF I HAVE MISSED ANYTHING)
> 
> please read notes :)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is very chaotic, maybe it is the lack of correct grammar? Think of it as my way of reflecting the overwhelming confusion and angst I am putting Ghostbur through... oops my bad.
> 
> Please note: Dream SMP Phil is a bad Dad but some aspects of this that are mentioned will be emphasised by Wilbur.
> 
> The amount of support I received on the last chapter was absolutely mind-blowing, you guys seriously value your kneecaps, huh?  
> In all seriousness every kudos and comment means a lot to me, I enjoy writing and if others enjoy what I throw together it makes me want to keep posting very poorly written fanfic for you all :D  
> What would you guys say to a Greek Gods AU if I can be bothered to write it?  
> Edit: Partway through writing this chapter I was informed that my Nana is going to pass away any day now, so sorry if some of it seems more rushed. I'm not going to stop writing, I find it quite therapeutic.

Why was Tommy shouting at him? Why was Tommy in the button room? Wait, what? The ghost wanted to cry, emotions unknown to him becoming overwhelmingly difficult to cope with.

Tubbo was also staring at him ( _Tubbo! Tubbo in a box, Tubbox, Tubbo in a box what will he do?)_ from where he stood behind Tommy. They look nervous, a hint of fear hiding in the shadows of their eyes and... they were scared of him? An idea so startling he was almost laughing, he was not scary, not when there was Dream, and Techno, and _Schlatt._

**Schlatt.**

Before the name would be mentioned and all Ghostbur could do was draw up blanks but now, the mere thought brought flashes of images and smells and _memories_ to the forefront of his mind.

_"Well that was easy"_

_"Wilbur Soot!" loud clapping_

_Alcohol_

_"Dick and balls"_

_"Get in the cuck shed"_

_The sound of lava_

_A suit, creased, red tie barely tied,_

_Ram horns, a booming laugh_

_"Revoke the citizenship of Wilbur Soot and-"_

It hurt. Immense pain rolled over him further heightened at the uneasy silence between those around him- He had to talk to Phil, Phil wouldn't hurt Friend, Phil wouldn't explode L'Manberg, not after he _killed you after you did the very same._ Dad always knew how to help, Dad meant hugs, _as the blade impaled him through his heart and the wings of his father welcomed him to the cold embrace and thrilling dance with death,_ and home and safety. He needed his Dad.

A blank and then suddenly he was on the outskirts of what once was his L'Manberg, communicator in hand. Blanks in his memory brought the sick comfort to him, he was used to the normal of forgetting, it was refreshing from the images that kept pushing themselves for his attention, craving his acknowledgement... He pressed the call button, it rang out for a few seconds, he nearly hung up right then and there but then there was the familiar click of acceptance.

"Phil...?" _"Phil...?" "What are you doing?"_

"Heya mate." He sounded so calm, so unphased and it didn't make sense. How could that amount calm be achievable in the same world of Ghostbur's panic, his confusion? They all told him that this man was the one who brought destruction on the home he created, he built but it made no sense. Were they lying to him?

The spirit floated with nowhere in mind, a hill now separating him from everything, "Phil... Tommy- They're all saying you helped blow up home, why are they saying that? Why are they making up lies about you?"

"No, I did do that son. We were teaching them a lesson." Maybe it was the reasoning being for a thing as simple as a lesson or maybe it was the slight laugh but a wave of anger, which had laid buried within him surfaced. Friend, Friend dying was funny to him? Did he not care? Tommy fought for this, Wilbur fought for this, this was the freedom that they had left to discover and now his- Phil had destroyed it all, erased a nation as if it was nothing, allowed it to be vulnerable to being forgotten...

"You knew Friend was in there. You knew Friend was in there and you still set out to kill him. What did I do? Why do I deserve this?" _Manipulating Tommy, a traitor amongst the ranks, desire to blow up his unfinished symphony. a sick hope to kill them all with it, KILL ME PHILZA,_ "I know Alivebur was bad, I don't know what exactly he did-" _you remember doing those things, you did those things,_ "but I know what I did, I collected books, I sowed the seeds of peace and yet, I'm the one who pays for war." He is yet again met with another bout of memories, this time it was one he was familiar with.

_He and Techno stood in the field behind their house, swords drawn and ready to spar. Hit and block. Block and hit. Wilbur knocked Techno down and felt triumphant and proud,_ but it kept going, _Techno was rushing forward. He was knocked onto the ground by his twin but now he no longer recognised the bloodthirsty monster in front of him. He was going to die, he was going to- Phil was there, he stopped Techno at the last second. The younger twin longed for the comfort of which his shaken twin was provided but instead was awarded a disappointed glance._

"Why is it me who you must always punish?" Had he ever felt as defeated as now? _yes._

"Wil... what do you mean?" Phil sounded almost resigned like his son was a burden he was left to deal with, almost like he was disappointed that the sword he had driven through Wilbur's chest hadn't taken every part of him to the depths of hell to rot and burn in the hellfire.

"I always suffer the consequences of everything... because of a lesson that you wanted to teach everything I built, every bridge I tried to build to make up for whatever Alivebur did is gone and that's all because of you! Friend, Friend is gone because of you. I was punished for Schlatt winning the election because it was _me_ who was exiled-" That's not right. _Wilbur, Alivebur, he won the election, right? He remembered winning, he-_

A new voice piped up from the other side of the line, not Phil, "Ghostbur, where are you right now?" Techno, it was Technoblade. His twin, his brother, he would help him, he always did, _he showed up in Pogtopia for himself and Tommy._

"L'Manberg—Need to find Friend."

(But Techno helped Phil destroy his home)

He threw his communicator as if the very metal had burnt him.

* * *

Phil had just returned to the place of his son's retirement, said son and an enderman hybrid in tow, when the familiar sound of his communicator sounded... it was Ghostbur, his chest tightened at the name of a son he had killed.

"It's Ghostbur... One second-" He accepted the call, unsure what it could be about. He decided to leave his communicator on speaker, observing as Ranboo dismissed himself and decided he would look for a place to set up camp nearby.

"Phil..." Something was wrong, for the briefest of moments a sense of deja vu washed over the man but he shook it off.

"Heya mate." He leant himself against the wall, watching as Techno sat on a box next to him.

"Phil..." Immediately, he knew something was wrong, "Tommy- They're all saying you helped blow up home, why are they saying that? Why are they making up lies about you?" And that made him pause, what did he say to that? How long has it been since he knew how to talk to the youngest twin? The piglin had paused his cleaning his sword of the burgundy of blood, lifting his head to look at his Dad.

He decided being honest and calm would be the best way to address the new situation brought forward to him, "No, I did do that son. We were teaching them a lesson." And he laughed, thinking back on the revenge he got on the government that corrupted his son, that hurt his children.

"You knew Friend was in there." Phil went to remind the spector that the sheep Ghostbur had got strangely attached to had infinite lives but he never had the chance, "You knew Friend was in there and you still set out to kill him. What did I do? Why do I deserve this? I know Alivebur was bad," and that caused him to wince, knowing that his son was viewed by all (even his ghost)as a villain instead of the boy he raised who was anything but, "I don't know what exactly he did- but I know what I did, I collected books, I sowed the seeds of peace and yet, I'm the one who pays for war." Techno was now stood up, he was tense and appeared anxious at the drawn-out pregnant pause, neither one knew what to say. They were saved from answering as Ghostbur decided to continue his rant, "Why is it me who you must always punish?"

A rock of disbelief had made itself home in the pit of Phil's stomach as he heard the ghost's quiet question. He didn't know exactly what his son meant, but looking at his eldest something told him that Techno did... "Wil... what do you mean?" He did not want to have a deep, meaningful conversation like this. He didn't have the energy.

"I always suffer the consequences of everything... because of a lesson that you wanted to teach everything I built, every bridge I tried to build to make up for whatever Alivebur did is gone and that's all because of you! Friend, Friend is gone because of you. I was punished for Schlatt winning the election because it was me who was exiled-" Philza didn't even have time to process the information he received as the communicator was forcefully removed from his grip by a certain piglin.

Technoblade would like to believe he was a man of perfect calm, he knew it was an utter lie but can't a man lie to himself? No, not when so many voices were very much otherwise as he set on route to return to the place he just obliterated **hah, take that government** in search of his brother with Phil's communicator in his hand, "Ghostbur, where are you right now?" He noted that both Philza and Ranboo were behind him, he didn't care enough to wonder when the youngest had returned.

"L'Manberg... Need to find Friend." The fact that the responses from his brother were becoming more and more mumbled did nothing for the anxiety that Techno felt. A feeling that proved he was right to have as the phone cut out.

* * *

  
  


The body of the ghost was curled up in a fetal position, his hands shielding his head from… something. Techno knew returning to the fallen nation of L’Manberg wasn’t the smartest of ideas but the steady beat of protectiveness and the chorus of voices telling him to find his brother helped him in ignoring that logic. Finding Wilbur, looking so small and vulnerable made his thirst for blood heighten- whoever hurt his little brother would surely suffer when he gave in to the temptation.

It took longer than he would like to admit to realise exactly where Wilbur had ended up, it was _that_ place.

**Angstbur**

**GHOSTBURRRR**

**E**

**BLOOD FOR THE BLOOD GOD**

**You didn’t even cause a chunk error LMAO LLLLLL**

**E**

**Sadbur**

**Sleepybur**

**E**

**/rainbow chat**

**BLOOD BLOOD BLOOD**

He crouched down so he was level with the spirit and called out for what was left of his brother to return.

* * *

_‘Ghostbur’_ Who was Ghostbur? Right, that was what they called him now. The knowledge that he was sentenced to stay on the living plains as a ghost unsettled him, he remembered now… the desire to be free from the endless insanity that was life, the cursed cycle of being the betrayer or the betrayed, being the hero or the villain. Many would say that was what was the fatal flaw within him and many of the others in his nation, the view that the world had two categories of being good or bad and that their actions would condemn them to one. He wanted to agree, wanted to believe he was stuck on a spectrum with the choice of where he ended up but in reality, he never realised what box he was in until Dream was handing him the gunpowder he needed to blow their home up.

In a way, as he lay now pretending to be asleep as his twin brother tried to wake him up, he made peace with his role as the primary executor of Manberg, felt the pride of what the legacy of his downfall had left, the knowledge that that legacy was produced as the bedrock crater that crushed the hope of someone trying to finish _his_ symphony. 

He made peace.

And suddenly everything felt warm, _he’d been cold for so long,_ the rubble that had stabbed into his back turning to the tickle of grass. He opened his eyes, let the hand grab his own, let himself be pulled up.

_“It’s about time you got here, Virgo.” Yes, yes it was._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So... I didn't expect this ending myself if I'm honest but I started writing and it just happened. Hope you enjoyed it :D  
> Any requests you guys have? Just comment them and I'll be sure to try them out if I'm comfortable with them!
> 
> Remember to leave a kudos (or ya know... comment?)

**Author's Note:**

> This was originally meant to only be one chapter but I decided to split it into two,
> 
> If you spot any mistakes... no you don't. HOPE YOU ENJOYED my really shitty writing, I'm such a nerd help. This is what happens when a sleep-deprived teen decided to throw together a messy angst fest of a fic over the course of two days.
> 
> LEAVE A KUDOS OR I'LL STEAL UR KNEECAPS (or you know, just comment maybe?)


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